Hide And Seek
Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds...it belongs to CBS and its creators...I do however own Jess and Allison.
Summary: A kidnapping case reunites Hotch with missing relatives. The BAU works to catch a seemingly invisible kidnapper with their only witness, a 10 year old genius.
This fic contains corporal punishment (spanking) of teens in later chapters. I will post warnings at the beginning of those chapters. I do not approve of spanking in real life.
If this isn't your cup of tea, stop reading now. I would rather not get flames. Thanks. Constructive criticism is always welcomed!
Jess may not come in for a few chapters.
Chapter 1: A Secret Revealed
Jason Gideon walked through the halls of the BAU to his office to review a casefile sent to him from the PD in Lake George, NY. It was a bizarre case. A young child simply walked into the police department a week ago with bloodstains on her simply asking if someone could take her home. They had yet to fully identify the girl as she claimed to be someone who had gone missing 4 years prior with her brother.
Gideon sipped coffee as he read through the files and her initial statement to the police before freezing in his motions. She had claimed in her statement that her uncle worked for the FBI and it was his fault but she hadn't seen him before. She said his name was Aaron Hotchner.
An impromtu meeting was called within the BAU. As agents JJ, Reid, Morgan, and Garcia went into the meeting room, Gideon stopped Hotch.
"Now is not the time to be keeping secrets and I am telling you this first out of respect for you. We have been called to investigate a kidnapper in upstate New York who has reportedly kidnaps whole families. None have ever been found and there has never been evidence between these families to suggest kidnapping until today. One of his victims a 10 year old girl has been found in New York." Gideon hurried.
"I don't understand what this has to do with me personally but I assure you that this is not a case that seems to differ from others that we have had. The unsub is a serial kidnapper it appears and..." Hotch started.
"No, no. The victim that came forward is named Allison Danes. Her mother's name was Stacey Danes, formerly Stacey Hotchner. I recognized the name from your file as your sister who was reported missing about 4 years ago." Gideon said waving Hotch off.
"They found Stacey? I, I don't understand. You said Allison. What about Stacey and Brad and her brother Jess?"
Gideon said nothing as understanding passed between them.
"I can't go. Conflict of interest." Hotch said in realization.
"Not just that. She said that this was your fault. We have to clear you as a suspect first. Garcia will be here with you. Help her around here and I will keep you updated." Gideon moved towards the meeting room.
Hotch stood silently as he watched from the outside as Gideon filled the team on news from the case. He saw the look of horror and shock pass their faces before they turned and looked to him. Hotch curtly nodded before walking into his office. He knew he was next of kin and that he would become Allison's guardian. Though fear and worry that he hadn't felt as strongly in 4 years came rushing back as he considered the fates of the rest of the Danes family.
The last time he had seen the Danes had been 4 years ago, 2 months before they came up missing. He had got into a fight with Stacey as he urged her to leave her husband, Brad, as he drank too much and had been known to hit his children Allison and Jess who were aged at that time 6 and 11 respectively. The arguement led to him telling Stacey to no longer come to him with her problems and take care of herself and her kids on her own. That had been the last time he had seen any of the Danes.
Meanwhile, in the meeting room...
"Wow, I can't believe this has happened to Hotch. I can't believe he never said anything about having a sister let alone a niece and nephew." Morgan said in disbelief as he leaned back in the chair. He could understand keeping some thing secret like his secret with being sexually abused but he did not understand why a secret like this would be needed when it was their job to find people.
"Actually, everyone has a deep secret that they don't reveal as a way to cope with the pain and mental anguish of a traumatic event of some kind." Reid started before stopping himself. Though he had been known to go on and on sometimes, he knew this wasn't the right time to be shooting facts that no one was particularly interested in.
"Alright, Garcia you will be here with Hotch. Be prepared to run numbers and names if need be." Gideon said looking to Garcia.
"Ready like always." Garcia said before standing.
"Morgan you will be running the interview with the victim with Reid. JJ and I will go to talk to the local schools and people. Someone had to have noticed something." Gideon said while standing up.
"Reid, be ready to give a victimology on the plane. We leave in 30 minutes." Gideon said while gathering files and walking out of the room.
JJ turned to Morgan before leaving the room, "I don't understand something. Why didn't Hotch say something? This is the BAU. Surely we could have done something. We do find people for a living after all." JJ said what had been on Morgan's mind moments prior.
"I don't think he believed they were truly missing. For now, lets just get to Lake George and answer some questions. We can ask these questions later." Morgan stated before they both left to prepare to leave.
On the plane...
"Unfortunatly, the victim could not say for sure who the other victims were because she only knew some by their first name. But she is confident that there had been about 40 people there." Gideon said briefly.
"Well, from the families from the area and surrounding areas that went missing, there isn't a common thread. They just seem to be normal families that one day disappeared. There was never evidence of a break in or a struggle at any of their residences. Its as if they voluntarily left or were somehow subdued all at the same time. Either we are dealing with more than one unsub or we have an extremely intelligent unsub to deal with." Reid said as he looked over the possible victims for the kidnapper.
"Okay, then let's look at the Danes since that is the only family we can name for sure were victims here. Garcia looked them up for criminal records and Stacey has been arrested once for possession though she never served time. That happened about 7 years ago, and up to two weeks prior to them being reported missing, Brad has been arrested for assault and battery. He went missing before his court date. Do you think it is possible that he took the family and ran instead?" JJ asked looking around for confirmation.
"No, it is not likely. The family car, wallets, and even their bank accounts hadn't been touched. If he did run, he would have needed money and he wouldnt have made it too far toting a 6 and 11 year old along with him." Gideon said.
"Huh, this is interesting," Reid said while getting off the phone with Garcia. "Allison at the age of 6 was considered a "genius" for her age. Her parents were putting her in a private school not too far from Lake George."
Conversation slowly died down as they had no real leads and the plane touched down at it's location. They bid farewell as they parted to go off in their respective locations. They had a kidnapper to find and a family that was related to Hotch that they may have even less time to find them in.
PLEASE REVIEW!!! ITS THE CHEESE TO MY MACARONI!!!!
2008